Lenovo Miix 2 Review

Given the legendary quality of Lenovo's hardware, it should come as no surprise that the Miix 2 is a solid Windows mini-tablet. But in trying to compare it in a meaningful way with its closest competitor, the Dell Venue 8 Pro, I'm coming up a bit short: The devices are basically identical at a high level and the differentiators, such as they are, will come down mostly to personal preferences.

Like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, the Lenovo Miix 2 is a representative Windows 8.1 mini-tablet. It is roughly the same size as, though a bit lighter than, the Dell. It features what appears to be an identical 8-inch IPS screen, which is of incredibly high quality and runs at a resolution of 1280 x 800 (or 800 x 1280, if you use it in the default portrait orientation).

Lenovo Miix 2 (left), Dell Venue 8 Pro (right)

Quick side-track.

Many reviews of this device will no doubt ding Lenovo for this low resolution, but that's a red herring, and a cheap way for a reviewer to pretend he's being fair. (It's what we call "fake hustle" in basketball.) What really matters is how the screen looks, and here the Miix 2, like the Dell (once you turn up the brightness) performs admirably. Text, graphics, and video all look wonderful on this screen.

Taking the absurdity to uncharted heights, some reviewers might also then point out that Apple's iPad mini with Retina display packs a whopping 2048 x 1536 of pixels in its own 8-inch screen. But that device is a luxury item beyond the means of us common folk: Where the Miix 2 starts at just $299 for a model with 32 GB of storage, a comparable iPad mini is $499, almost twice as expensive. You pay for that screen, and then some.

A fairer comparison, of course, would be with the Google Nexus 7 or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX. These devices are smaller than the Miix 2 (or Venue 8 Pro), and they're not expensive: They cost $269 and $284, respectively for 32 GB models. The trade-offs here are the relative sizes of the screen, and one's preferences regarding Windows vs. Android. But whatever issues with the Miix 2, or the Venue 8 Pro, screen quality and resolution will not be among them. Not in the real world.

Lenovo Miix 2 (left), Google Nexus 7 (right)

But, as noted, you could find issues with this device. As with the Dell, the Miix 2 features a single micro-USB port. On the plus side, it's used for charging, though you can't just use any old smart phone charger as these mini-tablets require a bigger and more powerful plug. But unlike the Dell, Lenovo does not include a USB adapter, so you can't use any normal USB devices—external hard drives, printers, whatever—out of the box. This somewhat obviates an inherent advantage of this thing being a PC. You also can't charge it and use a USB device simultaneously since there's only one port.

The Miix's silver body is smoother than that of the Dell, and I prefer the Venue 8 Pro's grippy back, which makes the device easier to hold. Like the Dell, the Miix 2 doesn't offer hardware-based video out (like an HDMI port), which I think is a mistake. (To be fair, Amazon dropped hardware video-out on its HDX line, too.)

And in full disclosure, I should note that I had infrequent but ongoing stability issues with my review device. I'm not sure if this is common to the Miix 2 or an unusual cirmcumstance, but unlike the Dell I found myself needing to manually shut it down and restart more than I'd like. (Which is, at all.) The screen would simply stop responding to finger taps from time to time, which was infuriating. I'll reset it after I post this review and see if that clears it up.

Beyond that troubling area, Lenovo got most everything else right. The performance is stellar, and while the 8-inch form factor isn't exactly ideal for desktop applications, you can at least run them if you have to, which will be a plus to virtually any PC user looking to keep to the Microsoft side of the fence as they move into the tablet world. There's a broadband cellular option for those that want that, though my review device didn't ship with this capability. (The micro-SIM port will sit next to the micro-SD port on compatible models.)

Many are no doubt wondering about battery life. With the Venue 8 Pro, I reported that Dell had artificially enhanced the battery life of that device by shipping it with the screen dimmed so egregiously it was almost unusable. Lenovo doesn't try such a trick, so the battery life of its Miix 2 is quite a bit less on paper, but just a bit less than the Dell's in the real world, when you adjust the brightness on the latter device to be usable.

As I noted in my Dell Venue 8 Pro review, some may wish to contort this device into some kind of ultra-mobile PC as, after all, it is a Windows device. After a lot of soul searching and real world use with these devices, however, that's a lackluster experience. But the Miix 2 is a wonderful companion device, and for triaging email, browsing the web, playing games, watching movies and TV shows, and doing other common tasks, the big screen is a delight, and better than doing so with any smart phone.

Of course, the advantage of a PC is that it's versatile, and if that's what you want to do, you can. Certainly, using the Miix 2 as a tiny-screened PC with a Bluetooth keyboard is more natural than doing so with an iPad mini or whatever Android device, and you do of course get a full copy of Microsoft Office with the device if you're a masochist.

So, I know what you're really wondering: Dell Venue 8 Pro or Lenovo Miix 2? And while I'd love to offer up a pat recommendation that would generally apply to all, it's a bit too close to call. Obviously, the reliability issues I've seen are unnerving, but then I've not heard a lot of complaints about this one way or the other. The Dell's battery life is a bit better. The Lenovo is a bit lighter. The Dell has a grippy back that I really like. Some may prefer the silver styling of the Lenovo.

In other words, it's a tie—at least from my perspective. Your personal leanings may have you favoring one over the other. But while it's a bit frustrating not to be able to make a blanket recommendation, at least we now have two great choices in Windows 8.1 mini-tablets. At least two. I'm hoping to look at the Toshiba Encore as well.

Discuss this Article 40

Can you comment on the speaker's loudness and sound quality? Also, what about the *minimum* brightness of the tablet?

I got both tablets to try them out side-by-side, and significantly preferred the Dell because of those two traits. The speaker on the Dell was loud and always clear without distortion, while the speaker on the Lenovo was not only insanely quiet, but also distorted at its maximum volume.

The screen on the Lenovo was also too bright at the lowest setting - with or without auto-brightness turned on. It was unusable in a dark room or on the bus at night because it was painfully bright.

What I'm wondering is if I had a problematic early unit, or if what I experienced was representative of the Lenovo as a whole.

I switched to a Transformer Book T100. The keyboard is pretty decent (not for sausage fingers like yours, Paul!) and it's certainly better than the Surface Touch Cover I had on my RT for the last year. Certainly, the price is what is catching peoples eye with this one, especially considering it's a) a tablet with a screen size that you can actually be productive on (unlike the 8" models), and b) it isn't an insane price for the keyboard but still includes all the ports you'd expect, including SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and micro-HDMI (which the Dell lacks).

The only problem I find with the unit so far is that the recovery system on the 32GB model is pretty awful, and doesn't work as advertised. Creating an external USB stick conflicts with the built-in hidden 8GB embedded drive that connects internally to the USB bus. Not only that, but the 8GB drive doesn't include the WinRE software for PC Reset and Refresh, so if you wipe the main 32GB drive, you're stuck with a bricked system. Stupid software engineering design by ASUS, but what are you gonna do...

I had both the V8P and the Miix2 when they came out. Each had shortcomings, but were generally comparable. I ended up returning the Miix2. In the end, the following were the key decision making points for me.

The speaker on the Miix2 was tinny and too quiet for effective use. Perhaps this is a software issue that can be addressed.

The WiFi on the Miix2 is slow enough to be noticable. In home tests, it was typically 1/3 the speed of the V8Pro. Again, perhaps fixable by software.

Both the V8Pro and the Miix 2 have only one USB port, but there are reports that a USB 'Y' cable or USB hub will allow the Miix2 to charge while the port is also used for data.

The V8Pro will only charge if the data pins of the USB cable are shorted. This stops it from charging from a PC as well as many chargers (especially mobile chargers). There are hopes that this is addressable in a firmware update.

Other thoughts:

You stated that the Dell came with a USB On-The-Go adapter for use with regular USB devices, although I didn't get one with mine. I happened to have one and it worked fine on both machines.

I did hook up both machines to my monitor using a USB-HDMI adapter @1920x1080. It was a little laggy for regular use, but OK in a pinch.

You should do some experimenting with Miracast. There are some interesting side-effects associated with the default portrait orientation on these tablets. Perhaps an update to Win 8.1 will help.

My Dell did not come with a USB OTG cable either. I think Paul said in an earlier article that the Acer came with an OTG cable that he used successfully with the Dell. I purchased a cheap OTG cable from Monoprice that seems to work just fine with my Dell.

There is a YouTube video demonstrating that if you insert the usb cable with the data pins shorted it will start charging and continue charging after the short is removed and data to another device is allowed to flow.

Paul,
Are there any options to get video out via HDMI since neither of these tablets offers a port? I have an ASUS Transformer and I've found myself plugging it in via HDMI quite often to my TV for Netflix, streaming from Youtube and what not. Are there any pas through solutions or hacks that you can think of?
Thanks!

See LovalvoB's comment above about both the Venue and the Mix working with a USB to HDMI adapter. I've used my Venue with Miracast using an Actiontec Screembeam Pro. That has some oddities with the normal portrait orientation, but it works.

Thanks Sven.. I noticed he mentioned the lag at 1080p. Not sure how that works out when streaming netflix. Hopefully it's just input lags. I guess it's time to dig through some forums and find out as I'm seriously considering getting one :D

If Dell had their Stylus working well, then I think Dell would have been the clear winner, isn't it? As things stand today, what should have been their strength (stylus) is what has been the cause for bad reviews for the Dell

I weighed all the current (Win) 8" tabs up before purchasing mine. Between Lenovo (Miix2), Toshiba (Encore), Dell (Venue), and Acer (W4), what I found that most suited my requirements was the Toshiba Encore. I love it! Its battery rating is around 14hrs with full Win8.1 (2cell battery).

The only thing different with this device is the capacitive screen (so no digitizer). I can use an older stylus type and that's fine for what I'm using the Encore for. Speed and performance are very good (no apparent lag).

My first choice was the Lenovo but I found the battery having only a life of 7-8hrs was my breakpoint for me.

Paul - how can you turn off syncing of the Start screen tile layout?
I have 2 devices (a 12" laptop and an 8" tablet) and they keep screwing up the tile layout on BOTH because they sync to each other (probably because the laptop can show 4 rows and the tablet only 3 rows).

I assume you have come across this problem as well with your testing.
Thank you!

It's true, the built-in GPS of these devices delivers the data via the Location service of Windows 8/8.1. Streets & Trips expects to see NMEA data coming in via a virtual COM port. Not the same thing at all.

Centrafuse Localizer is a third party software shim to connect the two worlds. It works, but be aware that Microsoft designed their location service to be updated once per second - not very good for tracking fast moving vehicles with any sort of precision.

I know the W3 was a bit of a letdown with the sparkly screen, but I'm holding out for the W4, if it ever comes out. The keyboard looks far better than the W3 too. I've been pretty happy with the build quality on the newer V5 and V7 models. I'm waiting to see what they have coming in a 10" Bay Trail model to compete against the T100 too.

Hi Paul! I have a question that could be asked and answered by the time this comment shows: The Dell 8 Pro comes with an Intel Atom z3740D right? Is there any improvement in speed in the z3740 inside the lenovo?? I understand that there are somewhat important differences between those that you must already know! Thank you, great article BTW!!

I had the W3 when it first came out and agree the screen was a killer bad design. I then had the Surface RT. Not a bad device but RT would not run the coupon programs necessary to keep the wife happy. I now have the Venue 8 Pro and on a scale of 1 - 10, I would give it an 8. A working pen would push it to 9.5.

There's no one number for battery life. For SD video playback (on-device), I got about 8 hours. That is virtually identical to what I got on the Dell Venue 8 Pro. But I'm still measuring a few things. Battery life loss overnight (seems to be about ~10 percent with all settings on defaults) and so on.

I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 series laptop with Window 8.1 on it and I do have some issues from time to time with IE and the system locking up, so Paul's statement would keep me from buying their tablet. The Win8 store is getting better for content, but it still drives me crazy that it is so far behind iOS and Android. Until it gets closer I will be sticking with Android tablets (I refuse to give Apple money for their overpriced devices).

I have a Dell Venue Pro 8. Who ever designed the on-screen keyboard must not have looked at a regular keyboard. I guess this must be true for all windows 8.1 tablets, but it's a WFT comment.

I use the command prompt to do things quickly, like create a share - net share crap=c:\crap /u:guest,read or something like that. Mistype it, and you can't find an up-arrow key any where. You can find 2 pages of smiley faces, but no keys like the function keys, page up/down, home, end... which tend to be really useful for running certain Windows Apps.

Too bad they didn't let the phone UI guys design the stuff for the tablets, they got most things right.

I would like to to speculate on something if you don't mind. If 8 inch tablets running full Windows become successful, do you think software companies would consider making a touch friendly version of their desktop software over creating a new app for the Windows store? I don't know if it is cheaper to make changes to an existing program than it is to start from scratch but I am sure that would be a consideration.

It looks like the guys at Plugable have solved the charging issue and integrated it into one of their awesome docking stations. In their video they primarily talk about the Dell equivalent but they say it works just fine.